7. Come in early and leave late

Hear that? It's the sound of your fellow readers frantically scrolling down to the comments to whine, “It's not about how much time I put in at work, it's about the quality of work I do!” That's a valid point. Quality is more important than quantity. Know what else is completely true? As long as the quality's there, the quantity helps too. Nobody's asking you to stay an extra four hours. In fact, don't do that as it can actually make it look like you're falling behind or not managing your time correctly. Instead, look at it from your boss' perspective: Two employees are due in at 9 a.m. One arrives at 8:40, the other slides in like clockwork at 8:59. The second employee is at work because he “has to be.” He is following the rule, true, but the boss may well assume that if the rule wasn't there he'd be late every day. The first employee, on the other hand, gives the impression that he's excited to be at work and is there to tackle his goals. Not a bad return on 15 minutes of your time.